Red Butterflies
by Tugboats
Summary: Sakura is transferred to boarding school. She believes she is doing well at making friends, but like every apple has a core, every person has a livid rival seeking revenge. SasuSaku.
1. School for ninjas?

Note: I'm not very good at romance/drama stories, but then again, my other romances were one-shots, so I'm hoping this one will be better. And I must confess—I only wrote this because these stories always have such amazing titles. These always end up sounding super-awesome.

And I'll admit that I do seem to bash Ino a little, but I like Sakura more. We could debate for hours (which actually would be kinda fun) on who is better, but my opinion is that Ino seems a little obnoxious. I don't particularly like Sakura, but I prefer her to Ino. And please don't flame me and start rambling about how stupid Sakura is. If you do...you'll see what happens.

And I got my title from _Final Fantasy X_. At one point, there is a game with blue butterflies and red butterflies, blue being good and red triggering a battle.

-:-

DISCLAIMER:

I don't own _Naruto_

I'm fine with that—no misery

I just wish

That I owned Akatsuki.

-:-

"Sakura!" my mom shouted as I walked in.

"Yes, Mom?" I said, trying to keep the testiness out of my voice. After all, I was going out with my friends in a few minutes and needed to fix my hair so it didn't look frizzy.

"I have wonderful news!"

"Really? What is it?" I asked, trying my best to sound excited and sweet. Enter model-daughter mode, starting...now.

"You're going to boarding school!"

Say what?

"But Mom! I can't go to boarding school! I want to stay here!"

That was not, of course, my complete argument. If I moved off to boarding school, I'd have to leave behind my friends and make all-new ones. I'd have to go off into some stuffy dorm and live with a complete stranger for around 180 days. Well, technically more, if you counted weekends and holidays (unless my parents decided to be nice and let me stay).

"Don't worry," she said, reading my worried expression. "You can still write to your friends. And I'll let you come home every single holiday."

"Well," I sighed, "I guess I'd better pack."

-:-

Several weeks later, I climbed off the train, carrying my trunk with me. The school wasn't very far away from the train station, so my mother and I walked together.

"You're going to have fun," she assured me, leaning over to give me a quick kiss on the cheek. "You'll make lots of new friends."

I was doubtful. Boarding school seemed like the type of school for snooty, unfriendly rich kids. I didn't think of myself as poor, but I certainly wasn't the type with butlers and maids who catered to my every whim and wrapped their (usually foreign) bodies tightly around my fingers, which would be expertly manicured. Nope. That did not suit me at all.

As we approached the school, I felt an elevated sense of nervousness and instantly checked my outfit. My black peasant skirt swished around my legs comfortably, accentuated by my matching black sandals. I wore it with a dainty burgundy sleeveless top, and my pale pink hair was pulled into a low bun, with bangs covering my left eye.

"Well, we're here," my mom said. I looked up at the fancy building. Images of well-to-do snobs filled my head like water filling a glass.

My mom leaned over to give me a quick hug. "Have fun at Ninja Academy," she said.

"Excuse me?" I gasped. "This place is for ninjas?"

"Of course! They train you do be a ninja! Didn't you know?" I rapidly shook my head, which at least was clear of wealthy jerks.

"Oh. Well now you do. Goodbye!" Mom ran off, leaving me dumbfounded.

_I suppose I'll walk to the office_, I thought as I walked slowly towards the building. _At least these people won't be rude, right? Ninjas are supposed to help people, right? Right? _I tried to rack my brain for the image of a ninja, but all that came up was a black-suited stealthmobile throwing metal stars at enemies.

_Oh boy._

-:-

"Name?" a pudgy man asked me. With his physique, I hoped he wasn't an instructor, or he'd be in big trouble.

"Haruno Sakura," I said, fiddling with my skirt.

"Of course," he mumbled. "New girl?" I nodded. "Well, you'll be in room number 15. Ino Yamanaka will be your roommate."

"All right," I said. Ino Yamanaka. What a classy, elegant name. She sounded like she'd be a cool person.

"Here is your schedule. Now go," he said, shooing me out of the office.

_How rude_, I thought, walking off to my room. I concentrated on Ino. Would she be a nerdy ninja wannabe? Or would she be a rich girl? Or maybe she was just a nice, normal, sweet girl. I was hoping for the third one.

As I debated the possibilities of Ino Yamanaka's psyche, I looked down at the carpet, until BANG! I crashed into a boy about my age.

"Omigosh, I am so, so sorry," I gasped at him. I wasn't gasping for breath, necessarily. I was gasping for breath because, well, he was amazing. He had ivory skin and these gorgeous dark eyes, which matched his choppy blue-black hair.

"It's fine," he shrugged, walking down the hall. Embarrassed, I continued to my room. 12, 13, 14...15! I knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" a female voice called out.

"Haruno Sakura!" I yelled in return. "I'm Ino's new roommate?"

"Oh," the voice called back. "Door's unlocked!"

I pushed the door open and stumbled into my room. It was a rather cute room, with a deep blue carpet and silvery walls. An elegant, woven-looking fan adorned the ceiling, and there were two shiny wooden dressers and two four-poster beds made of the same wood. One bed was empty, with no sheets whatsoever. The other had a plush comforter made of purple velvet and matching pillows.

On the violet bed was a girl about my age. She was pretty, with long platinum-blonde locks in a long ponytail and matching bangs in her left eye. Her eyes were sea-blue and gorgeous. Her outfit was the same color as her blankets.

"Hey," she said. "I'm Ino. Bathroom's over there. It has two toilets and one shower-bathtub combo. The storage space is in there. That dresser's yours. The other is mine, and I suggest you unpack so you can get into something more comfortable for your next class."

I did as I was told and emptied my clothes into the dresser, dumping my trunk in the storage closet. I fixed up my bed with cream sheets and beautiful red flowered blankets, arranging my pillows in a cute design.

"Red your favorite color?" Ino asked, not looking up from the journal she was writing in.

"Yes," I blushed.

"Cool," she said. "I think it's time for dinner. We won't have much down-time afterwards, so you'd better change into something athletic now."

I took her word for it and climbed into a cropped, hooded red minidress with black biker shorts underneath.

-:-

Dinner was pretty predictable. We ate, we cleared our plates, we went back to our rooms for digestion. All in all rather plain.

After dinner, we retreated to our rooms.

"Everyone has tai jutsu next," Ino said. "It's like a group thing. If you want me to, I'll introduce you to everyone." I nodded eagerly. Maybe Ino knew that dark-haired boy!

-:-

"Welcome to tai jutsu!" a man cried at the top of his lungs. I stared. He had an unhealthily shimmery bowl-cut, and wore a green jumpsuit. Was this honestly his idea of a ninja? And if that wasn't enough, he had a teacher's pet that looked exactly like him.

"That's Gai-sensei," Ino whispered. "He's kinda strange. His little clone is Lee. He's actually really good at tai jutsu."

I nodded.

"Now we must spar with each other!" Gai gave everybody a goofy-looking thumbs-up sign.

"So, come meet everybody," Ino said, dragging me over to a large group. "Hey, everyone, this is Sakura."

I stared at everyone.

"Okay, this is Naruto," Ino said, pointing to a boy in an orange sweat suit. Was the bright costume necessary for battle? He had blonde hair and rather nice eyes. "This is Lee," she said pointing to Gai's clone.

"Hello!" Lee shouted, pumping my hand up and down energetically.

"That's enough," Ino grumbled. "Anyway, this is Neji." Neji had pale eyes and long brown hair.

"Nice to meet you," I stammered.

"Charmed," he muttered, giving me a brief nod.

"This is Tenten," Ino said, pointing to a girl with brown hair in two buns. She gave me a friendly smile and shook my hand. "And this is Kiba."

Kiba wore a fur-trimmed coat and seemed to have fangs. Was he a bear in disguise?

Yapping sounds broke my train of thought. "You have a dog?" I asked.

"His name is Akamaru."

After Kiba explained his dog to me, Ino introduced me to Shino, whose sunglasses and large coat creeped me out, Hinata, who had Neji's eyes and was very shy, Shikamaru, who seemed very lethargic and less-than-thrilled to be here, and Chouji, who was very chubby and was eating chips.

"And this is Sasuke," Ino said, pointing towards the cute guy I bumped into outside my room. I tried my best to smile sweetly and shake his hand.

-:-

"So, did everyone seem nice?" Ino asked after tai jutsu was over and we were in our rooms. We'd changed into our nightclothes and climbed into bed.

"I guess," I muttered. "Any romances I should know about?"

Ino chuckled. "Well, Neji and Tenten seem awfully close friends," she snorted. "Hinata also seems to have a small crush on Naruto."

"Really? What about the others?"

"Well, another girl told me that she tried to kiss Kiba, but his dog got in the way." I laughed. "Yeah. So you should only try him if you like dogs. And Shino's a little too creepy for my taste." Ino shuddered. "And Lee is too energetic for a girl, don't'cha think?"

"Yeah," I agreed. "What about that other guy...Shikamaru? And Sasuke?"

"Hmm," Ino mumbled. "Shikamaru seems to have an on-and-off thing going with this other girl, Temari," Ino said. "Even if they're in the off stage, Temari still thinks of him as her property, so stay away from him unless you're a really good fighter."

"And Sasuke?" I asked.

Ino turned pink. "Sasuke...well...he's really popular with a lot of girls. So many girls like him, but he doesn't seem to talk to any of them too much. It's hard to get him to open up."

"I see," I said, trying to hide my disappointment. How would I win him over if he didn't like people? "So...do you have a guy you like?"

Ino turned pinker. "Yeah, it's Sasuke."

_Sasuke_. Of course my drop-dead gorgeous roommate liked Sasuke, too.

"Any crushes so far with you?" she asked, trying to get the attention off herself.

"I think," I mumbled, looking down.

"Who is it?" she asked, leaning over. "I won't tell anybody."

"It's...Sasuke," I mumbled.

Ino looked perplexed. "Oh..." She turned off her lamp. "It's getting late. Good night, Sakura."

I could tell by the way she stiffened up that she wasn't exactly feeling as friendly as she was before.

This was going to be a tough year.

-:-

Note: Not as dramatic or romantic as I would have liked, but since is not a one-shot, the romances and dramas will start pretty soon.

So, if you thought I made Ino seem a little too rude (or if I ever start making her seem too rude), tell me and I'll try to be a little nicer. Until then, I'm Rayne, and my hair looks like Neji's!


	2. Is it against ninja code to talk?

Note: Rayne is back, Neji-hair and all! Well not really. My hair is now the exact same style as Kabuto's. Which is actually pretty cool, since I'm cosplaying him next week. Now all I have to do is get it silver, since all the wigs were sold out...

Anyway, I don't own _Naruto_, I own myself, and yada-yada-yada. Now I'll try to make it more dramatic/romantic, and I'll see if I can work in a few subplots. If there are any pairings you want to see, tell me and I'll see what I can do. I just can't do yaoi, yuri, or incest.

-:-

"Wake up," Ino said.

I groggily opened my eyes and saw Ino sitting on her bed in a purple bathrobe, with an ugly beige towel wrapped around her hair.

I sat up. "What time is it?"

"Almost time for breakfast," Ino said. "You might have enough time to take a shower if you hurry up."

I jumped out and hopped into the shower so fast that there should have been a video camera present to see if I wasn't in fact flying. As I washed my hair, I relaxed. Ino and I could probably work out the crush thing. Maybe we could just let Sasuke decide who he liked. Or we could both give him up and get new crushes. The possibilities were endless.

_Hey...do I smell syrup?_

My stomach growled. Syrupy breakfast would be a delicious start to the day. I started zoning out, thinking about what kind of syrup it would be. What would be accompanying the syrup?

Until I realized the smell was coming from my shower stall.

With a shriek, I dropped my shampoo bottle. Sticky brown liquid oozed out. _Maple_, I thought, my mind still stuck on breakfast. Why was there syrup in my shampoo?

I tried to rinse it all out, and when I was done, I still smelled like maple leaves. Wrapping myself in my bathrobe and a towel, I walked out.

Ino was leaning against the bed casually, dressed in a purple tank top and cream-colored sweatpants.

"Why'd you scream?" she asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

"I found syrup in my shampoo bottle," I muttered through gritted teeth.

"Really? Do you think the guys snuck in and put it there?"

_Oh, sure,_ I thought. _What does she think this is, summer camp? We have freaking locks on our doors!_

"Probably," I mumbled, forcing myself to sound cheery and believing of her tale. "I guess I'll get dressed."

Getting dressed was a snap (I just pulled on a red t-shirt and black shorts), but dealing with my hair was a big problem. I finally stuck a knitted red cap over my still-sticky locks, frowning at my reflection.

_Oi._

-:-

"We're here!" Ino announced, settling down in an empty seat next to Sasuke and across from Shikamaru.

_Of course she grabs all the cute guys,_ I thought bitterly as I took a seat near Tenten and Neji.

"What do you think we're doing in gen jutsu today?" Tenten asked, passing Neji some milk. "Oh, hey Sakura."

"Hi," I smiled, trying to hide the sigh struggling to escape from my lips.

"Do you like this school so far?" Tenten asked, pouring herself a glass of milk and offering me the carton.

"Yeah," I said, pouring myself a drink. "But everything seems so intense!"

Neji snorted. "This isn't for the weak."

_But it is for the jerks._

-:-

"I didn't see you at breakfast, Sakura," Ino said in our room, pulling her hair into a sleek ponytail. "Where were you?"

"I was sitting somewhere else," I said sunnily as I examined the mess on my head. How would I get it clean?

"Oh," Ino said, sounding disappointed. Either she was a phenomenal actress or she really was innocent and I was flipping out over a mistake. "Well you missed it. Shikamaru and I were—"

I started tuning her out as I messed around with my hair. Maybe I could wash it before our next class, gen jutsu, which Neji said was all about phantasms.

"Isn't that funny?" Ino asked me.

"Huh? Oh, yeah," I said. "Maybe you should go for Shikamaru instead."

Ino snorted. "Nice try, Sakura, but you know I'm all about Sasuke. And besides, I don't want to get my body ripped up by Temari."

"Is she capable of that?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. Just who was this Temari girl, anyway?

"Duh," Ino scoffed.

"Okay," I said, trying to cover for my awkward moment. "Does my hair look okay like this?" I gestured towards the wide black headband pulling my hair away from my face. Not adorable, but it hid all of the dried clumps of syrup.

"I guess," Ino said. "Come on, Forehead. We're going to be late."

_Forehead. Not exactly the new-girl label I was hoping for._

-:-

After a brief tutorial, we were assigned to groups of three to practice gen jutsu with each other. Maybe I would be with Sasuke!

"Group one," our instructor read. "Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Temari."

I chuckled to myself. Ino was with Temari, whom she hated almost as much as she did me. Poor Ino. Well, not really.

"Group two," they continued. "Neji Hyuga, Kankuro, and Tenten."

Kankuro was someone I hadn't yet met. His hat resembled feline ears, and he had weird paint on his face. Not to mention the bandaged bundle he toted around on his back. _Weird._

"Group three: Sasuke Uchiha, Gaara, and Sakura Haruno."

Hooray! I was with Sasuke! But just who was this Gaara kid? I walked over to Sasuke, and saw that he was slowly walking towards a red-haired guy with thick black rings framing his narrow eyes. He had a large, peanut-shaped object resting on his back. _Not another one._

"Uh...hi..." I mumbled. Wow, I was such an enchantress.

Sasuke nodded in my direction. Gaara ignored both of us.

"So...what are we doing now?" I asked shyly. Obviously I was going to be doing all of the talking in this group.

Predictably enough, Gaara and Sasuke were both silent. I edged towards Ino's group, eager to see if Ino was getting shredded to bits by Temari.

"Of course not," Ino scoffed.

"Well look at you, you obviously know everything," Temari laughed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ino asked, leaning towards Temari rather threateningly.

Temari looked shocked (either that, or she was an even better actress than Ino). "What do you mean, you don't know?" Her tone was full of mock surprise. "I thought you were the smartest one here!"

Shikamaru groaned and put his head in his hands.

-:-

After an excruciatingly long hour of nervous chat with Sasuke (who used terse one-word responses) and Gaara (who ignored everything I said), I was finally free from gen jutsu.

"We have free time now," Tenten (who was apparently my tour guide at this school) told me. "As long as we stay on campus, we can do whatever we want."

Free time sounded nice to me. Maybe I could take a shower and finally get all this sticky syrup out of my hair.

"But we have to stay outside."

_Of course._

-:-

_Oh...my...gosh...I didn't think Ino could stoop that low..._

See, since everyone needed to stay outside, we all retreated to a small area where we could all do whatever we wanted, whether it was walk to the nearby field to train or sit down on a bench and talk to our friends. Almost everyone decided to just chat with each other and relax before our next grueling ninja experience.

Oh, but that wasn't enough for Ino. I should've figured that a diva like her wouldn't be content with a little R & R. Oh, no. As soon as she walked onto the field, she practically bellowed:

"Let's play Confessions!"

-:-

Note: Ooh, I wanna see what they've got hidden under their unusual hairdos! And if you do too, review this story!

Until I feel like updating, I'm Rayne and my Kabuto outfit still hasn't gotten here!


	3. Confessions

Note: I have my Kabuto outfit! I look like a freaky mutant in it.

Thank you to wishingdragon for constructive criticism (it seems like no one ever gives me constructive criticism), and ihearttoast09 for liking my story (and for liking toast)!

-:-

"Let's play Confessions!"

We all stared at her. We barely knew each other, and she expected us to share our secrets with everyone?

"Okay!" Naruto shouted, running up to her. "I'll play!"

"Me too!" Lee bellowed, running over. So much for not wanting to play.

Gradually, I was losing my allies. Tenten went up to play and somehow convinced Neji to play too. Hinata went over and stood next to Naruto, looking at the ground and twiddling her thumbs.

One by one they went to Ino, until it was just Gaara, Sasuke, and me.

"Come on, Sasuke!" Ino squealed, grabbing Sasuke by the arm and pulling him into the circle. "You too, Sakura," she spat.

I stood my ground, until I saw Gaara roll his eyes and walk up to the circle, muttering some unpromising words under his breath.

_Enough is enough_, I thought. _I may not want to play, but I am NOT going to be labeled as the square girl who's no fun!_

Slowly, as though I expected monsters to pop out at me, I walked towards the circle.

"Took you long enough," Ino giggled. "Now that everyone's here, sit in a circle."

_Yes, teacher. _We all sat in a circle, Ino was (naturally) between Sasuke and Shikamaru, Temari sat on Shikamaru's other side, Hinata was blushing next to Naruto, and I was with Tenten and Neji, who were the only people who seemed to remotely like me. Actually, only Tenten seemed to remotely like me. Neji seemed to think I was the biggest idiot he'd ever had the misfortune of becoming acquainted with.

"Sasuke, you can start!" Ino announced, clapping her hands. Who died and made her the leader?

Sasuke sighed. "Okay...Ino."

"Yes?" she asked. I couldn't bear the expression on her face. She had a huge smile filling out her cheeks, practically taking up half her face. And her eyes? They were goony-looking, filled with lovesickness and excitement over the fact that Sasuke was asking her a question.

"Why did you make us play this game?"

The smile fell off of Ino's face and was replaced by a grim substitute. Her eyes lost their hopeful shimmer as I tried not to launch myself at Sasuke and give him a high five.

"...because it's fun!" she squealed, trying to come back from her awkward moment. "Now it's my turn, right?" We all stared at her stupidly. "Alright...Lee!"

"Yes, Ino-chan?" he asked, standing up and saluting her. "What shall I confess today?"

"Why do you wear that hideous jumpsuit?"

Lee gasped. "This—this is not hideous!" he shrieked. "It is youthful!"

"...right," Ino mumbled, and for once I agreed with her. "Your turn. Go."

"Hmm..." Lee pondered, looking around the circle with exaggerated enthusiasm. "I choose...Sakura!"

I gasped. "...uh...yeah?" I asked, trying to sound as though I were cool with the fact that he picked me.

"Sakura!" he repeated. "What do you think of Gai-sensei?"

I was back to being awkward all over again. "Um...I...um..."

"You have to tell the truth, Sakura," Ino called out from her seat, as if I needed reminding.

"I think he's...goofy...and weird..." I mumbled.

Lee gasped. If I hadn't known any better, I would've thought I'd insulted _him _instead of his sensei. "How can you say that, Sakura?" he gasped at me. Then he fainted. I am serious.

"Um, is he...?" Hinata mumbled.

"We'll wake him up when the bell rings," Ino cooed in a motherly (or so it would seem) tone. "Go, Sakura."

"Hinata?" I offered. Hinata sat up and looked at me expectantly. "Who do you have a crush on?"

Hinata looked nervous. "I...uh...Naruto..." she mumbled. Naruto looked proud. Ino looked disgusted.

"You moron!" she mouthed. "I already told you who Hinata likes!" she snarled, shaking her head. I shrugged at her.

"I-is it my turn?" she asked. We nodded sweetly at her, and then went right back to glaring at each other. "Okay. Um...Tenten?"

Tenten looked up. "Yeah? What is it?"

When she realized she had to come up with a confession, Hinata turned bright red and looked down. "Who do you have a crush on?"

All eyes whipped over to see Tenten's reaction to Hinata's question. "Not anyone right now," she shrugged, looking totally at ease with herself.

"I pick...Neji!"

-:-

And so it dragged on. Everyone in the circle learned of several peoples' crushes, abhorred persons, and so on. Shikamaru even fell asleep, but he woke up when Ino asked him if he liked Temari.

"I don't like anyone right now. Girls are such a drag," he'd drawled at her. "And nobody wake me up again." With that being said, he fell back asleep.

"Hurry, guys!" the newly conscious Lee said, bouncing on his heels. "I have so much I wish to learn, and so little time to learn it!"

"Okay then," Ino said. "I pick...Sakura!"

I glared up at her. I wasn't a mind reader, but I could tell that she wasn't going to make my confession the easiest, most painless one.

"What?" I asked, flipping my hair over my shoulders.

Ino smiled at me before opening her mouth to start the torturous dare. "What's your most embarrassing moment?"

Oh my. I'd seen that question in other games, and it was guaranteed to be a reputation-killer. It wouldn't have been so bad if I was a normal person like Tenten who had a normal life and never got embarrassed, but I wasn't Tenten. I was Sakura Haruno, whose life was like a documentary about embarrassment. I was the kind of person who had an embarrassing moment wherever I went, no matter how boring and seemingly embarrassment-free the place was.

"We're waiting," Ino said. Even I could hear how forced the playfulness in her voice sounded. Ooh...faking! Perfect!

"Um...probably the time at my old school where I tripped during the school play."

Ino let out a loud cackle at my embarrassment. _Home free!_ I thought. I had tripped during the school play, but that was heaven compared to some of my other embarrassments. _Guess you're not as smart as you like to think!_

"Okay, Sakura, it's your turn," Ino said, still looking amused at my klutziness. "The bell's about to ring, so make it quick."

"Sasuke!" I blurted before I could chicken out and ask someone like Kiba.

Sasuke looked up at me with those onyx eyes, and I froze up once again.

"I...er...whodoyouhaveacrushon?" I mumbled, trying as hard as I could to get the awkward words out.

Sasuke raised one eyebrow. "Care to repeat that?"

"Sure..." I stammered, feeling the familiar heat of a good blush. _No_, I thought. _Please don't start blushing! I look like a fuzzy Valentine's Day card when I blush!_

"So..." I mumbled. "Who do you have a crush on?" I repeated, hiding my head in my hands.

After a few seconds, nothing had happened. I looked up, and Sasuke appeared to be deep in thought. Ino was smiling at me, mouthing, "Well, I guess you aren't as dumb as you look!"

"Spit it out, Sasuke," Naruto said impatiently, fidgeting from one foot to the other. "The bell's about to—"

He was cut off by the blaring sound of the bell.

"Wait!" Ino yelled. The volume of her voice left everyone frozen. "Sasuke, please answer the question."

"Yeah, Sasuke, who do you like?" Naruto pestered. I wanted to snap at him. Why did he care? He was a guy, after all. This was a girly matter.

Sasuke sighed. "It's Ino."

-:-

Note: Oh noes! Sasuke is challenging my OTP! What will I do? Well, I will update this story! How dare Sasuke try to get out of SasuSaku!


	4. You want me to get killed?

Note: Since the reviewer I will mention soon is anonymous, I put this response here since I can't actually respond to them privately. Anyway, the story isn't SasuIno, since it says SasuSaku in the summary! I do agree about your pairings, however. SasuSaku should last forever. OTP! Yay! And InoShika is also cool. Ino and Shikamaru are destiny.

But I have exciting news! I've now decided that Ino is better than Sakura! And sure, she acts a little more like Sasuke (is it me, or is SasuSaku extremely similar to the Matt and Christie pairing from DramaCon? And SasuIno seems a lot like Matt and Emily!), but still. Even though I liked Matt and Emily together and didn't like Matt and Christie together, and I like SasuSaku and dislike SasuIno, I like Ino better than Sasuke. And somehow I can't see them together. Probably because I like Ino and don't particularly like Sasuke, whereas in SasuSaku, I dislike both people.

Now that my annoying tirade is over, let's read the actual chapter!

-:-

I stared at Sasuke in shock. Could it be possible that he preferred Ino to me? I was positively dumbfounded, and was sure I had a gorgeous look of chagrin on my face. Chagrin looks great with dried syrup, by the way. Not.

Ino, on the other hand, looked extremely pleased. No, strike that.

Imagine that you're having the greatest day ever. Your crush looooooooves you, you just succeeded in everything you'd ever dreamed of, and people are giving you presents just for being you! Then, imagine someone took a picture of you (most likely to put it on some billboard that says "Greatest Person" or something like that). Then take the expression off your face and imagine it on Ino at that moment.

"Wait, Sasuke likes Ino?" Naruto demanded, looking troubled by the news, which I totally didn't get, since he's a _guy_. (1)

"Yes, you heard him," Ino said, fluffing up her ponytail. "Isn't it great?"

I stared at Sasuke intently, since he was too busy staring off in the distance to notice us gossiping and giggling about him and Ino.

_Could he really like that girl?_ I thought, staring at him all the while. _How could he?_

Sasuke turned to walk away and met my glance. Blushing scarlet, I leapt away, muttering something about how I'd be completely and utterly late.

"Sakura!" a voice was calling. I turned and saw Tenten sprinting over. "Hey," she repeated, walking next to me. "That was fun, huh?"

I shrugged and mumbled something.

"Wasn't that crazy about Ino and Sasuke?" she asked with a chuckle. "I have to say, I'm pretty shocked about it myself. He's never paid any attention to her before."

I looked up at her. "Really?" I asked eagerly.

"Yeah," Tenten confirmed. "But then again, he ignores all of the girls. Have you ever tried having a conversation with him? I swear it's like talking to a brick wall!"

"Yeah," I mumbled. Sure, he may have broken my heart and all, but I was not going to trash-talk my beloved Sasuke. After all, if I was going to get him away from Ino, I had to be nice to him.

"Hey, I'm heading to Ninjutsu," Tenten said, changing the subject. "What about you?" After checking my schedule, it was confirmed that I had Ninjutsu as well. "Cool!" Tenten said.

We headed over, with Tenten amiably chatting and me nodding quietly. "Um...is Ino in that class?" I asked timidly.

"No," Tenten said. "But Sasuke is." My heart started doing flips. "A lot of other girls try to flirt with him. It's kind of funny." My heart immediately stopped jumping.

"Really?" I asked with disappointment.

"Yeah," Tenten said. "I don't know why, though, since he never bothers talking to anyone. Well, here we are."

We walked into a large classroom. As Tenten had told me, Sasuke was sitting in the back, completely surrounded by girls scooting their desks as close as possible to his. I craned my neck, searching for a nearby seat. Aha! There was an empty desk right next to him.

"Yes!" I cheered to myself.

"Don't bet on it," a nearby voice said. I turned to see a red-haired girl smirking at me, her body turned towards the empty chair in Sasuke's vicinity.

"Sorry," I said with a smile, and bolted to the seat. The redhead did the same, but she was attempting to trip me up, while I was concentrating on the race itself.

"I'm getting that seat!" she snarled at me, reaching out to grab my hair. I jumped away from her and crashed into the desk itself.

"Come on, Misemono!" one of the seated girls crowed. "Hurry, hurry!"

"Oh for crying out loud," I grumbled, collapsing into the seat.

"Ahaaaaaaaaa!" Misemono squealed, grabbing the back of the chair and plopping down onto said chair. Or rather, onto what was seated _in _said chair. "Why hello, Sasuke," she giggled.

"Erm..." I mumbled, trying to draw her attention to the fact that I was underneath her.

"How are you?" she cooed, either unaware of my presence or just ignoring me. "It's so nice outside, isn't it?"

Sasuke nodded curtly.

"It's so beautiful!" Misemono squealed, her eyes shining. "Isn't it wonderful?"

Sasuke stared at her. "I think you're sitting on someone," he muttered, not even glancing in my direction.

"What?" Misemono asked, looking around. Right as she was about to say something, our white-haired teacher walked into the room.

"All right, settle down," he said, sitting at his desk. "You two," he said, pointing at Misemono and me, "what are you doing?"

Misemono fluttered her eyelashes. "I was sitting here first, and then this girl tried to steal my chair!" she cried, placing her hand over her heart. The girls nearby tittered in agreement.

"Really?" he asked, sounding skeptical. "Tell me, how did you manage to sit underneath her?" I heard some chuckles coming from Naruto and Lee.

"Me?" I asked. The teacher nodded slowly. "Um, I didn't."

"That's what I thought," he said dismissively. "Misemono, please move."

"What?" Misemono snarled. "Kakashi-sensei, this is super stupid! She used ninjutsu to transport herself to the chair right as I was sitting down!"

I heard a strangled sound to my left and saw Sasuke smothering a snort. Naruto and Lee, however, let loose and laughed so hard I thought their stomachs would explode.

"What an idiot!" I heard Naruto gasp out between laughs.

"Her lies lack youth!" Lee giggled, tears pouring out of his round eyes.

"Mm-hm," Kakashi said, not looking very believing. "Are you aware that she is a new student and has had no instruction in ninjutsu?"

"...um..." Misemono mumbled, fiddling with her headband. "...maybe?"

"Just get off her," Kakashi said. "Now."

"Fine!" Misemono snapped, striding over to her friends in a huff. "This is so unfair," I heard her mumble to them. "Why does the new girl get Sasuke?"

"Well, that was interesting," Kakashi said, ignoring Misemono's dark mumblings. "Now then, let's get onto our first project of the year. You are going to work in teams of three to create a jutsu of your very own. The key is to invent one that you think will help the Hidden Leaf Village. Then you will present your jutsu to the class. Any questions?"

Misemono raised her hand. "Can we pick our teams?"

"No," Kakashi said bluntly. "I already selected them." Ignoring our whining and fussing, he grabbed a sheet of paper from the mess on his desk. "Our first group is Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Misemono Koushou."

I had grinned when my name was announced after Sasuke's, but the grin dropped onto the dirt-smeared floor when I found out Misemono would be working with us. I glanced over at Tenten, silently begging for help.

"Sorry!" she mouthed, looking sympathetic. I couldn't believe this stupid coincidence. First I had gotten Sasuke and that creepy Gaara kid, and now Sasuke and Misemono? What was next? Sasuke and Neji? Sasuke and Ino? Was it too much to ask that I get normal people, like Tenten or Kiba? Apparently.

"So, got any ideas?" I asked sunnily, forcing myself to smile sweetly at Sasuke and Misemono.

Sasuke simply stared at me. I stared into his onyx eyes. _Oh, sweet Sasuke,_ I thought to myself. _How could you fall for that demon child Ino?_

"...well?" Sasuke asked. After a few seconds, he raised his eyebrows. "Are you okay?"

I blinked. "What?"

"Did you hear me?" he asked, looking irritated. I flinched. Great. Now I felt like an idiot!

"Er...no," I confessed, pulling on a strand of my hair. Misemono snorted.

As Sasuke repeated his pitch, I did my best to pay attention, giving him the old "nod and smile" act. Truth was, I had no idea what we were doing. And judging by how wide Misemono's eyes looked, I guessed that she didn't either.

-:-

Somehow, I had survived that torturous class, with Misemono giving me the cold shoulder and Sasuke speaking as little as possible. Then we had dinner, which was actually quite delicious. Then we retreated to our rooms, where I wrote letters to my friends as Ino concentrated on curling her hair.

"If you want to wash out all that syrup, you can go ahead," she said, not looking away from the mirror.

"Really?" I asked. With all of the primping Ino was doing, I half-expected her to take an hour-long soak in the tub, scented oils and all.

"Yeah, I showered after dinner," she replied.

"Are you going somewhere?" I asked, glancing at her perfectly lined eyes and flawless hair.

"Yeah, Kiba's having a party," she said. Noticing my expression, she quickly morphed into Kind Miss Ino. "Oh, don't feel bad," she cooed. "I'm sure he would've invited you, but he's been planning this party for ages, and you came too late to join in." When she finished fixing her hair, she patted me on the shoulder. "Maybe next time!"

I watched, seething, as she walked into the closet and came out holding several gorgeous dresses. After what felt like an eternity, she finally narrowed it down to two dresses. The first one was a black halter dress, with a few ribbons attempting to tie the plunging back together. The skirt was asymmetrical, its longest point at her knees.

"Okay, should I wear this one, or the purple one?" she asked. "The purple one" was quite different from this slinky number, it having thin straps and a baby-doll silhouette, in addition to glitter along the hemline.

"...the purple one," I told her. That black dress was just asking for trouble. You combine a halter neckline with a low back, and then only use a few dinky strings to hold it together?

"Really?" Ino asked, only sounding mildly interested. She turned around to examine her backside in the mirror. "I think I like this one."

"Okay," I said, glancing in her direction. "So, have fun tonight."

"I will," Ino said slyly. "Hey, can you toss me my key?" I grabbed Ino's gold-plated room key and chucked it at her. She caught it with one hand. "Thanks. I'll try not to wake you up when I get back. Bye!" She blew me a kiss and shut the door.

_Yes!_ I wanted to cry. I was finally free of Ino! Free to shower, and use her fancy shampoos and soaps without her attacking me for it!

I danced to the bathtub, turning on the hot water and filling it with sudsy bubbles.

As the water filled the tub, self-doubt filled my brain. My mom would probably write me a letter asking all about my new friends, and no doubt she would ask me if there were any cute boys. Here I was, my first Friday night at a new school, and I was taking a bubble bath while everyone else I knew was partying in a boy's room.

My eyes widened. What if Ino was kissing Sasuke right this minute?

-:-

Ino knocked on Kiba's door elegantly, though inside she was excited. She was finally going to a gathering where Sasuke was in attendance, and Sakura wouldn't be there! As she waited for the door to open, she fixed her meticulously done hair and retied her dress.

"Hey!" she said happily as Kiba opened the door. She walked into the room he was sharing with Shino and dropped her jacket on the bed.

"Hey, Ino," Shikamaru drawled from his perch on the balcony. Ino put on a "Queen of the World" smile and sunnily waved at him.

"Kiba, has Sasuke showed up yet?" she asked, sweeping the room with her gaze. Kiba shook his head. "Damn. I guess I'll go outside."

Ino walked onto the balcony. "What's up, Shikamaru?" she asked, tossing her hair over her bare shoulders.

"Not much," he sighed. "Hey, aren't you freezing? It's fifty-two degrees outside."

Ino was about to declare that she was fine, but a wind swept through the balcony, chilling her to the bone. "Um, yeah, I'm really cold."

Shikamaru took off his jacket. "Here, you can wear this."

Ino gratefully took the jacket. It was an ugly shade of gray, and it was short-sleeved, but it was a great opportunity. She was wearing a guy's jacket!

-:-

Temari walked in.

"Hey, Temari," Kiba said, tossing her jacket onto the bed. "You look great."

Temari did look much better than usual. Her hair had been let down, tumbling effortlessly to her shoulders. She'd also exchanged her athletic attire for a maroon strapless dress that tapered at her waist and then fell to her knees.

Temari ignored him. "Is Shikamaru here yet?"

"Yeah, he's out on the balcony," Kiba explained. "You can go out if you want to."

"Thanks, I will," Temari said briskly, walking out to the balcony. "Shikamaru, you here?" She walked further onto the balcony and froze. Shikamaru was leaning against the railing, with only his pants and that fishnet shirt on. When she glanced to the left, she saw Ino facing him, wearing a black dress and Shikamaru's jacket.

-:-

I climbed out of the bathtub, encased in a fuzzy white bathrobe, with a soft pink towel around my head. I felt better than I had in days. I was nice and clean, and I had a room to myself!

Still wet, I changed into a pair of pink pajamas and settled down in bed. It wasn't until I eyed the dresser that I realized what I could do. Within seconds, I was rifling through Ino's trunk until I pulled out the purple book that held all secrets—her diary.

-:-

"Did someone say my name?" Shikamaru asked, turning around. "Oh, hey Temari."

The grin dropped off of Ino's face. Why was Temari here?

"Hey, Shikamaru," Temari replied, standing on his other side. "When did you blow in?"

Shikamaru glanced around. "I...have to use the bathroom." He left Ino and Temari facing each other.

"Temari," Ino said solemnly.

"Ino," Temari countered. "Why do you like Shikamaru?"

"What?" Ino snapped. "I don't!" 

"Oh, so you're wearing his jacket and leaning towards him for no reason?" Temari scoffed. "Just admit it!"

Ino stared into Temari's stony face and got a very bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

-:-

Sakura flipped open Ino's diary eagerly. The secrets! The confessions!

_Dear Diary,_

_My old roommate Riza got transferred out of the school. I'm glad. She was a nut-job. They say I'll get a roommate whenever a new girl comes. Whatever._

_Anyway, Sasuke looked at me today! I was staring at him during Taijutsu, and then he turned around and our eyes met! _

The rest of the entry was lovesick babble, so I flipped the page.

_Dear Diary,_

_I met my new roommate today. Her name's Sakura Haruno. She seems so trusting. I almost feel bad about putting syrup in her shampoo, but I had to. Diary, she also likes Sasuke! And come on, it's not like I could come right out and admit that I'm intimidated by her. Her hair is _pink! _And she's got these adorable mint-colored eyes that look so cute and innocent._

I froze. Ino was afraid of me? Someone as gorgeous as Ino was intimidated by someone like me, with a giant forehead? I almost began to like Ino again.

-:-

"Why can't you just back off?" Temari snapped. "He doesn't even like you!"

"Yes he does!" Ino snarled. "Why else would he give me his jacket?"

Temari smirked. "Oh, so that's how you want to play it?" She reached into the waistband of her dress and pulled out two shuriken (2). "Then let the match begin!"

-:-

I turned to the last page of Ino's diary.

_Dear Diary,_

_Omigosh! Omigosh! Omigosh! Sasuke likes me! Can you believe it? Sasuke Uchiha likes me, Ino Yamanaka! Not Sakura, but me!_

I rolled my eyes.

-:-

"Hey, let's not get hasty," Ino snapped, dodging the shuriken Temari was chucking at her.

Temari snorted as she continued throwing shuriken at Ino. One hit Ino in the shoulder.

"Ow!" Ino pressed her hand to her shoulder and started rubbing it.

"Get ready, Ino," Temari laughed. "That was only the beginning."

-:-

I sat back in my bed, staring at the ceiling. I wondered if Ino was having fun. Maybe she was. Maybe she wasn't. As I contemplated crashing the party (I would change out of my pajamas, of course), there was a knock. I figured it was Ino. She probably lost her room key.

"Coming!" I called out. I opened the door. "Hey, how was the part—" I stopped. Ino wasn't at my door. It was Shikamaru!

"It was a drag," he replied.

"Why are you here?" I asked. "Ino's still at the party."

Shikamaru sighed. "That's the thing."

"What?" I snapped. "Did the party end a long time ago? Is she still there?"

Shikamaru let out an even louder sigh. "Can you just listen to me for a second?" I shut up. "I was just talking with Ino, and then Temari showed up. And when I looked out on the balcony, they were fighting."

I stared at him with wide eyes. "Fighting as in...?"

"As in Temari throwing shuriken at her," he defined.

"Then why didn't you stop her?" I exploded.

"Temari would kill me," he grunted.

"So you want me to go in there and get killed trying to save Ino?" I demanded.

Shikamaru shrugged. "Basically, yeah. And you might want to bring some sort of weapon. Bye." He shut the door.

I plopped back onto my bed and stared at the door. Why should I save Ino? If I recall, yesterday this would have been a dream come true. No more Ino.

Then my mind flashed back to her diary. _...I'm intimidated by her._ Ino didn't hate me. She actually had some sort of twisted respect for me, in a way. And if I saved her butt from Temari, she might actually _owe _me.

I threw on the first pair of pants and first jacket I touched. I dropped a key in my pocket, while the other pocket contained several shuriken, along with one kunai.

I marched out the door and strode stiffly along the hall until I reached Kiba's room. It wasn't very hard to identify. Light was spilling out from the door, and loud music was blasting. I knocked.

Kiba opened the door, looking weirded out. "Um, Sakura, I, um..."

I put up a hand. "Save it. Where's Ino?"

"On the balcony, but—"

"Thanks." I marched past him and opened the balcony door.

"Is that all you can do?" cackled Temari. "I could do that while blindfolded!" I heard Ino groan in the background. I hesitated. Ino seemed very strong to me. If Temari could do that to Ino, I could only imagine what she'd do to me.

I swallowed and reminded myself that I was here to save Ino. Fingers trembling something fierce, I reached into my pocket and pulled out my kunai.

"You're done, Ino," laughed Temari as she picked up a shuriken and hurled it. I swallowed and threw the kunai.

The kunai collided with the shuriken and sent it skittering harmlessly onto the floor of the balcony.

"End of the line, Temari," I snapped.

-:-

Note: Oh my gosh, what the crap did I just write? This may be the worst thing I've ever written! It's twice as long as my usual stuff, it's cheesy, it's cliché, and it's absolutely horrible! Not only did I make a dumb cliffhanger, everyone is OOC, and I switched perspectives randomly! And (gasp) I'm going to have to write a FIGHT SCENE! (hides)

(1) Hehe. Just a little hint of NaruSasu. There was actually no meaning in that. I just got bored and put that in.: D

(2) I know Temari fights with a fan, but let's be honest, how many dresses can hide a fan? Maybe that Versace gown that Penelope Cruz wore to last year's Academy Awards, but I figured it would be a little much for Temari.


	5. A challenge

Note: I am getting addicted to writing drama stories

Note: I am getting addicted to writing drama stories! Next thing you know, I'm going to end up being a writer on a soap opera. :P Oh well. People like this story! And I love this story too, so I'm continuing.

And I haven't realized that SasuSaku hasn't been showing up. I'll fix that... (cracks knuckles and pushes aside homework)

But before we do, here comes a big shout-out to Teiana! Why? Well, you see, Teiana's comment that "it" would in fact be too much for Temari proves that they read my footnotes/author's note, the way _everyone_ should!

-:-

"And who are you?" Temari asked coldly.

"Doesn't matter," I shrugged. Ino stared at me, her mouth hanging open.

"How did you...?" she mouthed at me.

"Shikamaru," I mouthed back. Ino nodded knowingly.

"So why'd you show up?" she asked, nonchalantly leaning against the railing. Apparently my pink hair, large forehead, and the fact that I hadn't been invited to this party proved that I was nothing worth worrying about.

I hesitated. Why was I here? Ino had been nothing but rude to me. Sure, she admired me, kinda, but there were other ways to show that.

I raised my eyebrows at Temari. "Because I'm the only one who's allowed to fight with Ino." I inwardly cursed myself. Why did I sound so stupid? If I was in a movie right now, this would be the time that the dramatic battle music screeched to a halt.

Ino stopped staring at me strangely and instead snorted.

"I see," Temari said coolly. "But what are you going to do about it?" As if to prove the fact that she didn't care about me, she threw another shuriken at Ino. Luckily, she was able to duck, so it only sliced off a few strands of hair.

I rolled my eyes. "Has constant fighting made you brainless?" Temari raised one eyebrow, as if she was instructing me to go on. I sighed. "You really should be able to figure this one out for yourself."

Temari sneered. "Then let the fight begin!" She grabbed a stray shuriken and hurled it in my direction.

"Ack!" I jumped out of the way. Temari laughed. "Don't get too cocky, Temari." I picked up a few of my own shuriken and hurled them in her direction. Temari grabbed a stray plate off the balcony's table and held it in front of her face.

"What, have you never heard of blocking?" she asked, staring at me like I was two years old. Then she chucked the plate at me. I winced as it hit the wall above my head and shattered. Bits of porcelain bounced onto my head. I held back tears. "If that did you in, you're pathetic," Temari laughed. I tried to think of a plan, some sort of plan that would work. I decided to grab the tablecloth off the table and hide under it, and when Temari approached, I would throw all of my remaining weapons. It was perfect.

I looked over Temari's shoulder. "Hey, Shikamaru!" I shouted. Shikamaru wasn't there, naturally, but it gave me enough time to grab the tablecloth and hide.

I heard footsteps and knew Temari was back. "Nice try, Sakura, but I'm not going to leave that fast. Shikamaru wasn't even—" I heard her stop near my tablecloth. "Nice try, Sakura. Where are you really hiding?" I readied my weapons, ready to ambush her from behind. I heard the clinking of shuriken. I winced. Had she decided to destroy Ino first? I opened up one corner of the tablecloth.

"Since this is obviously a Shadow Clone, or a Substitution, I'll just rid myself of it, if it means you coming out." My breath caught in my throat. "Well, come out, come out, wherever you are!"

I was suddenly frozen, unable to move because of the excruciating pain shooting through my side. I glanced over and saw a kunai that had gone through the tablecloth and into my side. Tears started falling freely now, and I couldn't wipe them away from eyes because of the pain that churned through my body with every slight movement.

"What are you waiting for?" Temari asked, looking around. "Whatever. I guess I have to open this stupid tablecloth." She threw the tablecloth off of me and stared. "Wow. I should've remembered you're new here." She laughed when she saw the kunai sticking out of my side. "Did you honestly think you could defeat me with a cheap trick like that?" She ripped the tablecloth away from the kunai, and pain shot through my body. "Rule number one—see through deception." She tossed the tablecloth off the balcony. "Well, I'd like to say it was a good battle. I could just leave you here and you'd die on your own."

I gasped for air as Temari laughed and pressed her foot harder on my chest. "I expected much more from you," she said disapprovingly. "I thought you'd actually put up a decent fight. Ah, well. It makes it all the easier for myself." She picked up the shuriken and aimed it at my neck. "This is going to make it easier on me."

I looked around. Maybe Ino was better and could help. Wait...where was Ino?

I started boiling. I saved her ass from Temari. She could have at least stayed to offer support if needed.

"Well, Sakura, it sure was nice having you at this school. Much better than Riza."

I groaned, ignoring the throbbing of my side. "Okay, who is this Riza girl?"

"Talking won't save you now, Sakura," Temari chuckled. "Anyway, we'll sure miss you until a new girl comes along." She picked up a kunai and aimed it at my neck in addition to the shuriken. "Say goodbye!"

_Goodbye, cruel world,_ I thought bitterly. _I'll miss you all very much. It was nice while it lasted, anyway. I suppose this is the end. Wait...why isn't she killing me?_

Blurs of silver shot past me, faster than I could say "what the hell is this?". I looked up to see several kunai sticking out of Temari's skirt, pinning her to the wall.

"What the—who—how did you find us?" she sputtered. I glanced up nervously.

Sasuke stood above me, glaring coldly at Temari. I froze up. Could it be? Sasuke was coming to my rescue? This was like a fairy tale brought to life! I imagined Sasuke in a shining suit of armor, charging across the land on an elegant horse while brandishing a glowing sword. He looked very handsome in his armor.

"You weren't exactly invisible," he muttered. Temari looked stricken. "Don't worry; it's not like anyone cared." I stared up at him in rapture. "Sakura." I snapped out of my daze.

"Hmm?"

"Are you all right?" I breathlessly nodded. "Go inside. I'll handle it from here." I nodded wordlessly and walked in, plopping onto Kiba's couch. What made Sasuke wish to save me? Was his dinner drugged? If so, where can I get some of that?

"Sakura, when did you get here?" Naruto asked, interrupting my daydreaming. He looked me up and down, wincing at the bloodstains on my already too-casual outfit.

"Long story," I sighed. When Naruto turned away to talk to Hinata, I immediately stared at the balcony. I couldn't see much, just shadows of people fighting. I watched the two people. The one with the semi-long hair had to be Temari, and the one with somewhat short hair (who had the upper hand) had to be Sasuke. I watched as Sasuke effortlessly stabbed at Temari with kunai. Finally, the moment I had been waiting for. Temari fell to the ground.

"Yes!" I wanted to cry. "He did it!" Instead, I rushed out to congratulate Sasuke on his victory.

"Congratula—" I stopped dead in my tracks. Sasuke wasn't winning, unless the new definition of winning was "lying on the ground". I rushed to his side and anxiously pressed my fingers into his wrist until I felt a pulse.

"Thanks," Temari said smoothly. She grabbed her small black bag and placed the blood-stained kunai and shuriken inside. "I must say, he put up quite a fight. Pretty impressive for a kid." She placed the bag on her shoulder and opened the door. "Well, I'm off to bed. Fighting actually takes up a lot of my energy." She yawned and waved at me. "Good night, Sakura."

I narrowed my eyes. "Don't you dare."

Temari raised her eyebrows. "What? Are you trying to threaten me?"

I sneered back. "Yeah, I think so." I reached into the wall and pulled out the shuriken Sasuke had thrown. "The fight's just begun."

Temari laughed. "Now that's what I like to hear!" She emptied out her bag and grabbed all of her kunai at once. "Hope you can keep up this time."

"Don't worry," I smirked. Luckily, during my time inside, I'd been able to pick up a few more "weapons"...

"Try this on for size!" Temari threw the kunai at me. I jumped out of the way, silently thanking my mother for forcing me to take ballet lessons.

"It's impolite to ask a woman's size," I replied, gripping the shuriken in my hand.

Temari rolled her eyes. "Hilarious. You know, Sakura, you're starting to show some Riza-like tendencies here. I really thi—" She stopped as the shuriken I threw flew towards her face at a debilitating speed. She ducked backwards. The shuriken grazed her forehead, drawing blood.

She put her hand to her forehead and looked alarmed at the blood covering her fingers. A few seconds earlier and I would've lopped her forehead clean off. I congratulated myself on successfully injuring Temari.

"That was impressive," Temari grunted. She shook her head to get the excess blood out of her face. "This is going to be fun." She grabbed more weapons.

I reached into the huge pockets of my black pants and felt for my secret weapons. As I felt them, I smiled to myself. Temari had no idea what was coming to her. I pulled one out and threw it with a quick jerk of my wrist.

"A plastic fork?" Temari scoffed. "How utterly ridic—" And that was when I hit her head-on with the flowerpot. Shino had no idea that I was using his flowerpot in a girl fight, but it was one hot weapon.

Temari gasped in pain as the flowerpot shattered upon impact, showering her with small, sharp bits. I brushed my matted bangs out of my eyes with a smile. My beginners' skills finally paid off. A real ninja would never use a flowerpot as a weapon. Never. It wasn't refined enough. Who fought with a pot, anyway? I did. Sakura Haruno, novice ninja!

"That wasn't bad," Temari gasped, standing up. Even an untrained person like me could tell that she was running out of steam. I jumped. I had plenty of energy left in me. This was going to be cake. Delicious cake, with thick frosting, and sprinkles.

"Thanks," I said coolly. Unfortunately, Temari was starting to catch on. My moves were very formulaic.

A: Sakura does something stupid.

B: Temari laughs and talks about how stupid Sakura is.

C: While Temari blathers, Sakura hits her with a secret move.

Temari was unlikely to launch into any more monologues, because she knew that I was waiting for her to let her guard down. She wasn't going to play right into my trap. If she did, there was obviously some deeper meaning behind it. I reached into my pocket and felt my unconventional weapons. I grabbed one and pulled it out, my fingers tightly wrapped around it. I felt my other weapons and smirked. I knew what to do.

"What's this?" Temari asked, sounding more amused than frightened. "A flower?"

I giggled. "No, unfortunately I couldn't find any. But I found this!" I threw the bag of potpourri at her. It burst open, engulfing us with its sweet smell. I shoved my hand over my nose and giggled again, watching Temari choke on the overly sweet scent. She then looked away from me and tried to wave the fumes away. I grabbed my last three weapons. Now was my chance.

I grabbed the weapons and hurled them as hard as I could in Temari's direction. They hit the wall directly above her.

"You missed," Temari coughed.

"That's what you'd think, huh?" I sneered. Temari narrowed her eyes and was started to comment back. That was when she was hit by the shower of glass shards. They mercilessly engulfed her, cleanly slicing anything they made contact with. Temari cried out as the pieces of three of Kiba and Shino's dinner glasses destroyed her. I leaned over, picked up Sasuke's body, and went inside.

"Buh-bye," I laughed, waving. "I think it's time for me to call it a night. Have fun with my little friends!" I closed the door and locked it with another wave of my fingers.

"Hey Sakura—whoa, what happened to him?" Kiba asked, pointing at Sasuke.

"Oh, he's just a little tired," I said smoothly. "I'll drop him off at his room, and then I'll probably hit the hay myself." I grinned.

Kiba smiled back. "Wow, Sakura. You're the nicest person in this whole school."

I had to put my hand over my mouth to keep from laughing.

-:-

Note: Sorry that there was no romance here. But I think it came out pretty well. I love Sakura's little weapons. I would totally fight with someone else's flowerpot. She has a pretty good strategy, too. "Let them think you're an idiot, and then they underestimate you." It works for me whenever I play dodgeball, anyway.

I need to get more into the romance. Quick! To the romance novel-mobile!


End file.
